Zhang Xuan’s residence was quite far away from the Physician Guild. Even while riding on an aerial celestial beast, they took more than an hour before they arrived at their destination. Just like the Master Teacher Pavilion, the building of the Physician Guild did not look particularly grand.
If Zhang Xuan had to describe it, it seemed like a private medical clinic instead.
The Physician Guild was filled with people. Most of them were dressed in robes, and they had anxious looks on their faces.
“Physician Wang Qing, Physician Yue Quan, Physician Shen Zimu…”
Looking at the crowd in the hall, Qi Ling-er swiftly recognized them and frowned in bewilderment.
“Are they very famous?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“They are the most formidable physicians in the Drifting Specter Royal City! Usually, most of them are so busy that they wouldn’t meet one another even though all of them live in Royal City. It’s weird how all of them are gathered together in the Physician Guild today!” Qi Ling-er replied.
Physician Wang Qing was the principal physician of their Qi Clan, and the health problems faced by the upper echelons of the Qi Clan were all entrusted to him.
Similarly, Physician Yue Quan was the principal physician of the Beitang Clan, and Physician Shen Zimu was the principal physician of the Shentu Clan.
While the three clans appeared to be peaceful on the surface, there was a great deal of rivalry happening in the shadows. As such, even during the usual meetings held by the Physician Guild, those three physicians tried to avoid one another as much as possible.
It was bizarre to see the three of them appearing together in one place.
“We just have to ask someone to find out what’s going on,” Zhang Xuan said with a smile.
He stopped a young physician that was passing by and handed him ten Divine Coins. “May I know what’s going on here at the moment?”
The young physician accepted the money and replied, “It’s the Physician Tournament!”
“Physician Tournament?” Zhang Xuan frowned doubtfully.
He had heard of people competing in their proficiency in pill forging and smithing… but was it possible for people to compete with their abilities to cure a patient?
The apothecary that was able to best extract the medicinal energy from the medicinal herbs and maximize the potency of the forged pill would be the most skilled of all. The blacksmith who was able to create the most resilient and sharpest weapon would be the most proficient of all…
But how were physicians supposed to compete with their skills?
The Way of Medicine was vast and broad, and each physician had their own specialty. Furthermore, was it safe for them to test out their cures on their patients to see which was more efficient?
A life was at stake! That would be making light of their patients!
“I guess it’s normal that you outsiders wouldn’t know about it. The evaluation method of the Physician Tournament is not perfect, but it’s the most direct way to gauge a physician’s skills. It is basically a simulation of the treatment process, where the physicians will diagnose the patient and treat him. Based on a set of assessment criteria, we will be able to determine which physician is more skilled,” the young physician explained.
The Physician Tournament was currently the most official way used to set skilled physicians apart from the weaker ones.
It was not every day that a difficult patient would come by, so the chances that physicians had to prove themselves were extremely limited.
As such, most physicians joined the Physician Tournament in order to prove their skills. As long as one was able to emerge victorious in the tournament, everyone would recognize one’s skills.
“But to simulate the whole treatment process, you need to have patients, right? It can’t be that the Physician Guild is keeping a stockpile of patients with difficult symptoms just to conduct the Physician Tournament, can it?”
He agreed that a simulation of the treatment process was the best way to evaluate a physician’s skills. However, without patients to treat, any simulation would be meaningless!
And if they really prepared patients beforehand just to hold this tournament… that would really besmirch the reputation of the Physician Guild. As people who held power over the lives of their patients, it would be unacceptable for them to take life lightly.
“Of course not! Depending on the nature of the Physician Tournament, there are some tournaments that require live patients, and there are some that don’t need patients. After all, it would be highly ineffective if a Physician Tournament could only be held when there are certain patients,” the young physician replied.
Time was of the utmost importance in most medical treatments. By the time all the participating physicians were present, the patient would likely have died or become untreatable by then.
Therefore, changes had to be made to the format of the Physician Tournament accordingly.
“Then…”
Zhang Xuan was just about to ask how the Physician Tournament would work when a commotion suddenly broke out within the room.
A middle-aged man walked up onto the stage in front with widened strides.
“That is the leader of the Physician Guild, Sun Xuan,” Qi Ling-er whispered to Zhang Xuan.
Zhang Xuan glanced over to take a closer look.
The guild leader had the appearance of a forty-year-old middle-aged man, and his presence felt firm and reliable. His cultivation had also reached high-tier Celestial God.
“Everyone, the Sky of Cloud Dragon has challenged our Sky of Drifting Specter to a battle of medicine. They demand that we recognize their superiority and dispatch the top ten physicians of our Physician Guild to work for free in the Sky of Cloud Dragon for a hundred years if we lose. As you all should know, I don’t like to get involved in unnecessary trouble, but this is intolerable. I can’t accept this humiliation. What do the rest of you say?” Guild Leader Sun Xuan declared furiously.
“We won’t tolerate such humiliation either!”
“That bunch from the Sky of Cloud Dragon are only good for their bloodline! What medicine can they possibly know? What gives them to guts to challenge us to a battle?”
“Hah! They want us to serve them for a hundred years? If we don’t teach them a lesson, we’ll become the laughingstock of the world!”
…
Burning fury could be felt in the atmosphere as everyone’s complexion turned ugly.
“Since that’s the case, let’s accept their challenge and pound them to the ground! The honor of the Sky of Drifting Specter is at stake. We can’t afford to lose this fight!” Sun Xuan declared imposingly. “Right now, I shall declare the names of those who are going to face the physicians of the Sky of Cloud Dragon. There are five candidates in total, and they are the most esteemed physicians of our Sky of Drifting Specters. Speak up if you have any disagreements, but make sure that you have the capability to back up your words!”
The crowd nodded in agreement.
Similar to how there was no concept of first when it came to literature, it was hard to determine the best physician. Nevertheless, everyone still had some gauge as to who was more skilled out of those around them.
“As someone who has been elected to become the leader of the Physician Guild, it would be a huge disgrace if I remained unmoved when our Physician Guild has been insulted by an outsider. So, I’ll be volunteering myself as one of the candidates who will be facing the Sky of Cloud Dragon. Are there anyone who has any objections?” Sun Xuan asked.
“We have no problem with Guild Leader Sun facing the challenge from the Sky of Cloud Dragon!” the crowd replied resoundingly.
“Moving on, Wang Qing, Yue Quan, and Shen Zimu are the physicians serving the Three Great Clans of Royal City, responsible for treating the ailments of their Conferred God Kings. There’s no doubt that their medical skills are exceptional. So, I’ll be nominating them as our candidates too!” Sun Xuan announced.
The crowd nodded in agreement.
The fact that those three were chosen as the principal physicians of the Three Great Clans was testimony to their skills. Given so, they were qualified to represent the Sky of Drifting Specters in the battle ahead.
After confirming the four candidates, Sun Xuan looked at the crowd and said, “As for the last candidate, I don’t have any one particular in mind, so I would like to leave the choice to the rest of you. Is there anyone who has a candidate in mind that can represent us?”
“I would like to nominate Physician Chen Chao as our representative. Eight years ago, when the Chaos Pandemic struck, he was the one who came up with a cost-effective cure that could be pushed out to the masses, thus saving thousands of experts from the clutches of death. In terms of accomplishment and skills, he would be more worthy than any of us!”
“I’ll nominate Physician Zhao Chong! Everyone here has seen with their own eyes what he has done for our Physician Guild over the years. He has solved all sorts of difficult illnesses with ease, and over the past ten years, he has saved at least several hundred lives. The populace in Drifting Specter Royal City all address him as the Divine Doctor! I believe that he is the most appropriate candidate to represent us in the battle against the Sky of Cloud Dragon!”
“But in terms of experience, Physician Qian Hai is the most appropriate. His reputation might not be as resounding compared to the others, but he has worked in this field for many years now. In terms of reliability, I don’t think that there’s anyone in the Physician Guild who can compare with him…”
…
In just a few moments, the crowd had already nominated eight other potential candidates.
Most of them were well-known, respected figures in Drifting Specter Royal City.
The discussion among the crowd grew more and more fervent as they argued with one another over why the candidate that they had nominated was the most suitable to represent them.
Meanwhile, Zhang Xuan turned to Qi Ling-er and asked, “Do the five chosen candidates have the right to use the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation?”
He had gone in hopes of receiving the right to use the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation, but looking at the current circumstances, there was probably no one who was in the mood to test him. Since that was the case, it might be better if he competed for the final slot instead…
“Hmm… As far as I know, Wang Qing, Yue Quan, and Shen Zimu don’t have the right to use the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation. Of all physicians in the Sky of Drifting Specters, only Guild Leader Sun Xuan has the right to use it.
“If you wish to prove yourself worthy, on top of being chosen as one of the five candidates, you’ll probably have to defeat the opponents from the Sky of Cloud Dragon and achieve victory in the Physician Tournament as well,” Qi Ling-er said.
“What? The requirement to use the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation is so strict?” Zhang Xuan was slightly taken aback. “If that’s the case, doesn’t it mean that the Nine Skies don’t really have much interaction with one another?”
If only the person at the top of each occupation could use the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation, the number of people who could use that facility would really be pathetically low.
If it was that difficult for each Sky to access one another, how did they do business with one another? Did they even do business with one another?
Were they actually isolated entities who barely interacted with one another, like a puddle of dead water?
“You’re thinking too much!” Qi Ling-er shook her head. “What you are competing for is the right to use the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation, not the right to enter the other Skies. The boundaries to the other Skies are practically open, so you can enter and leave freely. Given the long lifespan of cultivators, most people can afford to spend a few years traveling to get to the other Skies, so they simply travel on aerial divine beasts or celestial beasts!”
“Ah, this is really a huge pain to deal with…” Zhang Xuan struck his head helplessly.
Qi Ling-er was right.
The right to use the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation should be viewed as a privilege. This privilege allowed one to teleport right into the heart of another Sky in an instant, which could be terribly dangerous if someone used it for malicious purposes.
As such, there was a need to restrict this privilege.
In this world where normal cultivators usually needed weeks to travel from one city to another, it was perfectly normal for them to spend years traveling to another Sky.
For ordinary Gods, spending years travelling felt like a huge luxury due to their short lifespan, but it was a different case for Celestial Gods, who could easily live up to a thousand years. They could easily spend months in isolation anyway, so it was not a big deal for them to spend years traveling from one Sky to the other.
While Zhang Xuan was still communicating with Qi Ling-er, Sun Xuan finally interjected into the commotion. “Since we aren’t able to come to an agreement, why don’t we have these physicians compete with one another? Whoever proves to be the most competent of all will represent our Sky of Drifting Specters in the battle!”
“Sounds fine!”
The crowd nodded in agreement.
Everyone had their own opinions on who was the most suitable candidate, so naturally, they would not come to a conclusion even if they continued arguing with one another. Since that was the case, it would be best if they could hold a selection to decide it.
This way, everyone would be more willing to accept the final verdict.
“Since that’s the case, let’s invite the physicians who have been nominated onto the stage!” Sun Xuan said.
It did not take long for the nominated physicians to gather on the stage. All in all, there were eight of them. They were all the most outstanding physicians in Drifting Specter Royal City, and each of them had made significant contributions to the world.
Sun Xuan looked around the crowd and asked, “Is there anyone else who wishes to join the selection as well? As long as you are able to emerge victorious, you will be given the opportunity to represent the Sky of Drifting Specter against the Sky of Cloud Dragon!”
Hearing those words, Qi Ling-er turned to Zhang Xuan and asked, “Young Master Zhang, are you planning on joining in the selection as well?”
To be honest, she had no idea how proficient in medicine the latter was. However, knowing that the young man before her possessed the bloodline of a God Monarch, she did not dare underestimate his abilities. So, she decided to ask his opinion on it instead.
